Helsinki considers calling off low-carriage tram order from Germany

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Problems with Helsinki City Transport's (HKL) low-carriage trams persist, despite the repairs conducted by the German manufacturer Bombardier. Based on preliminary tests by an independent research institute, the trams' service life would remain considerably shorter than the promised 40 years.
      The trams ordered from Bombardier have received continuous repairs and refittings during their ten-year service history in Helsinki. Now HKL has had enough and is considering cancelling the entire deal.
     
Since last autumn, impartial testing of the trams has been carried out by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The robustness and endurance of the low-carriage body of the first tram that was repaired in Germany and sent back to Finland have been subjected to various measurements in test situations as well as during normal operation with passengers.
      Based on the VTT testing, the technical difficulties related to the trams' bodies appear not to have been rectified.
      The most notable problems were discovered with the resilience of the trams' body structures. These problems existed even before the vehicles were shipped back to Germany for repairs.
      "VTT predicts that the trams will markedly fail to meet their promised service life", says Ollipekka Heikkilä, head of development at HKL. According to Heikkilä, the fractures discovered in the tram's body are a self-feeding occurrence.
      "We know that when the top end of a support structure cracks, at some point it will result in a fracture at the bottom end as well. The frame just keeps weakening."
      Heikkilä confirms that this has led to other problems as well. As far as passenger safety, however, he does not want to say anything as no safety assays have been carried out yet.
     
HKL takes the new test results extremely seriously. The future of the Bombardier low-carriage trams in Helsinki is at stake.
      Besides cancelling the deal, there are other alternatives. HKL will negotiate on the matter with the German manufacturer today, Wednesday.
      Another alternative may be conducting yet more repairs.
     
At the moment one series of the HKL low-carriage trams is being refitted at the Bombardier factory in Berlin. The repairs for the entire 40-tram fleet should be completed by the autumn.
      HKL has not yet signed off on the delivery of the Bombardier trams. The trams went into service just over three years ago, and have spent almost as much time in the repair depot as on the streets of Helsinki: at any one time only 15-20 of the fleet of 40 trams has been in normal service.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Technical problems delay introduction of new tram fleet in Helsinki (21.5.2004)
  Helsinki wants 20-40 new trams early next decade (13.3.2006)
  Fault-ridden Helsinki trams will be repaired in Germany on a tight schedule (30.9.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat